'Why didn't you stop me?' said Joel. 'You knew all along. You even wrote something in my diary. Why didn't you stop me?'

'Because I want you you to stop you,' said the Doctor mildly. He looked at his raw silk shirt, grimacing at the stain and tear that had ruined one shoulder. to stop you,' said the Doctor mildly. He looked at his raw silk shirt, grimacing at the stain and tear that had ruined one shoulder.

'But you let it go on too long,' said Joel. 'I'm in too deep now. I can't turn back.'

'Of course you can,' said the Doctor. 'I wonder what became of my hat.'

'I can't.' Joel shook his head.

'You're getting more last chances than most.' The Doctor folded his arms.

'How did this all begin, Joel? When did the idea of disappearing into history and staking out your own little patch first begin?'

'A long time ago,' said Joel.

'I remember. . .

one night I was reading alt.alien.visitors, and I suddenly realized that all I could do was read. I couldn't post something to the Internet about what I'd experienced, all the aliens I'd met, all the adventures and stuff I'd had. n.o.body could know. n.o.body would ever know.'

'And that wasn't enough for you?'

'I guess not,' said Joel. 'Obviously everybody in Little Caldwell knew, and some of our contacts. But the rest of the human race. . . you know when I really decided to go through with it? When I read some stupid article in the newspaper about a Star Trek Star Trek convention in Liverpool. The usual c.r.a.p about how fans were desperate losers. And I thought, if it wasn't for convention in Liverpool. The usual c.r.a.p about how fans were desperate losers. And I thought, if it wasn't for Trek Trek and and Professor X Professor X and all the SF I've read, I couldn't do this job. Every new weird thing would boggle my mind. I've helped save the human race, and they call me a nerd.' and all the SF I've read, I couldn't do this job. Every new weird thing would boggle my mind. I've helped save the human race, and they call me a nerd.'

He dug at the ground with the rifle's muzzle. 'And now I feel like a real nerd for s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up. I just wanted to do something small, something good.' The Doctor just shook his head. 'It's not fair. Someone ought to know.'

'I knew,' said the Doctor. 'I was very impressed with your handling of the Gaffney Incident. Benny told me about it the last time I saw her.'

Joel looked astonished. 'Thanks,' he said.

'You're right. Between your imagination, your attention to detail, and your experience, you're ideally suited to the job dealing with aliens and faraway people quietly and peacefully, making sure they get home instead of being 189 dissected. You are, however, poorly suited to the position of Manipulator of the Time Lines.'

'You're a semi-mythical figure,' said Joel. 'Don't give me vocational guidance counselling it's weird.'

'It's hard to be semi-mythical when there's dirt in your socks,' said the Doctor, tugging off a shoe. 'Well, Mr Mintz, what are you going to do now?'

'Doctor. . . I can't go back. I killed someone.' It was a whisper.

'So that's your excuse, is it?'

'Excuse?' said Joel. 'Didn't you hear me, I killed killed someone!' someone!'

'If I used that as an excuse,' said the Doctor, 'I'd never get anything done.

Who did you kill, and why?'

'A samurai. He was going to cut me in half.'

'So it was self-defence?'

'Of course it was.' Joel was avoiding the Doctor's stare, fiddling with the controls on the rifle. 'If I hadn't killed him, I would have died. I'm not about to go around murdering people.'

'That's the next step,' said the Time Lord quietly.

Joel looked at him, feeling suddenly tiny and pitiful. 'Help,' he said.

'I can't help you,' said the Doctor. 'Like Chris, you're going to have to be a hero under your own steam. Me, I'm puffed.'

After several cups of tea, Penelope was in much better shape. She felt as though her mind had decided that enough was enough, just at the moment, and she would take a little holiday from all of the activity buzzing around her.

At the moment this largely comprised Mr Cwej, wandering up and down the veranda of the main hall with a manic grin on his face, and Talker, perched on the roof, looking over the edge at him.

'We know he's alive,' Mr Cwej was saying, once again. 'That's a beginning.

That's a great beginning.'

'But where does it lead?' squawked Talker. 'You can't hand the pod over to them. We must free Psychokinetic.' She lowered her voice. 'I am afraid he will go mad. Begin to attack people, destroy things.'

Mr Cwej dug his thumb into his forehead. 'Think! What do we have that they don't!'

'Monks. Vegetables. The pod,' said Talker. 'Maybe we can get Psychokinetic to make himself useful.'

'So far his powers have only worked over a small distance,' Mr Cwej pointed out. 'We'd have to bring them here first. We need to act now.'

'My time conveyance,' said Penelope.

Mr Cwej and Talker both looked at her.

190.

'There might be enough energy left in the egg for another two hops,' she said. 'If I can approximate the coordinates well enough, we could bring the Doctor here.'

'That's brilliant!' Mr Cwej's grin became even wider. 'Where is it?'

'I believe the monks have stored it in one of the buildings.' Penelope climbed wearily to her feet. So much for her mental holiday. 'Have them bring it out, and I'll get my telescope and equipment from the cart.'

Dawn.

The Doctor was watching the sun come up, hands clasped behind his back, peering over the top of the cloth fence.

They had reluctantly allowed him to help attend the wounded.

They seemed to fall into two categories. Some had vicious but not life-threatening wounds. Some were beyond the help even of the doctors and all their exper-tise in treating war wounds.

He found the young samurai he'd surrendered to a few days ago. An arrow through the eye, almost instant death. Perhaps he would have admired his opponent's aim. No one knew what had become of his father, whether he was dead, or recovering from wounds at a nearby house, or attending to his duty without regard to his grief.

The Doctor had been listening to the sound of hoofbeats for a little while, echoing through the valleys. Now they were quite close. Gufuu-sama's reinforcements, wasting no time.

It wasn't long before his view of the rising sun was obscured by horses and men, peering down into the enclosure. Captains shouted orders to their men as the new troops spread themselves across the plain, ready for the daimyo's inspection.

The Doctor stood on tiptoe, trying to see over the top of the fence. He didn't want to risk leaving the enclosure in case it earned him an arrow in the back.

They'd taken away the Caxtarid's body and burnt it with the enemy corpses.

One thing fewer he had to worry about, he thought grimly. He wished for the hundredth time that there was some way of knowing how they were faring up at the monastery. How Chris was faring.

Gufuu stepped into the enclosure, accompanied by two fresh samurai, ready for battle. The Doctor nudged Joel with his foot, and the young man jumped to his feet as though he'd sat on a rattlesnake.

One of the samurai marched up to the Doctor, grabbed him roughly, and started winding a rope around him. The Doctor didn't try to resist as his hands were bound tightly behind his back and the warrior forced him to his knees.

191.

'I take it the monks refused,' he said. Joel was watching the scene in familiar horror.

'I haven't received a reply from them,' said Gufuu-sama. 'But now that I have my reinforcements, I no longer need you as a hostage.' He looked at Joel. 'Kill him.'

'What?'

'Kill him.'

'But why? What's the '

Gufuu-sama stepped up to Joel and slapped him across the face, hard enough to send the time traveller stumbling back. 'I put up with your ill manners and your inexperience,' he said, 'but I will not tolerate your disobedience.

You will follow my orders without question, or I will behead you myself. Do you understand?'

Joel hesitated for one second. Then he drew the heavy katana katana from its scabbard. from its scabbard.

192.

21.Out of the bag

Penelope fed the punchcard into the machine. 'Here I go!' she shouted.

Nothing happened.

She restrained an oath. 'I'll try again,' she said, plucking the punchcard out.

'It's the egg,' said Mr Cwej. 'There isn't enough juice left in it.'

'Egg? Juice?' said Kame.

'I think you're right,' said Penelope. She knelt by the machine and peered at the softly glowing device inside. 'Its light is dying.'

'Try again,' said Mr Cwej. 'We might get lucky.'

'But will I have enough power to get back?' Penelope sighed. 'Hope springs eternal in the human breast.' She pushed the card in once more.

There was a loud popping sound, and the light in the egg went out for good.

'Oh, no!' said Penelope.

Mr Cwej started walking towards her. 'What if we '

'I think you had better stand back,' she said suddenly.

There was a bright flash, followed by a sudden warping ripple that twisted Penelope and the time conveyance into a pretzel, then a smear, then nothing.

The thunderous clap that followed made Kame press his hands to his ears in alarm.

'It's OK,' said Chris. 'She's on her way.'

They both glanced at the pod. 'He must have sent her,' said Chris. 'I think it he understands what we're trying to do.'

'What now?' said Kame.

'We get ready for a siege,' said Chris.

'It will be difficult,' said Kame. 'In the past this place has been protected by the steepness of the rocky mountain, and by its strong walls. But there has been little here worth fighting for. We have food for some weeks, but we can expect a rain of arrows and flame, men trying to scale the walls at all hours of the night and day. . . Without warriors, we cannot defend ourselves.'

193.

Chris nodded. 'You're right. We'll just have to hope that the Doctor can get that pod open.'

'What will you do if it cannot be opened, and Gufuu-sama demands you give it to him?' said Kame.

Chris glanced at him. 'I haven't decided yet,' he said.

Joel stood in front of the Doctor with his sword in his hand.

Gufuu-sama and his samurai watched, calmly, waiting to see what the young barbarian was going to do. And Joel knew that they had cut him all the slack they were going to, and that if he didn't kill the Doctor, right here and now, he was going to die. Right here and now.

Kill. The. The. Doctor? Doctor?

The one thing the Daleks had never done, the Cybermen had never done, the Zygons and the Kraal and the Autons had never done? The one thing that bullets and lasers and explosions and poison had never done? Joel Andrew Mintz, with a borrowed sword?

Joel made himself look at the Doctor.

The Doctor looked back with utter, utter calm. Not faked calm, meant to freak him out or defy his enemies. Real calm. No panic, no apprehension, no fear at all. Whatever happened happened.

G.o.d, I can't do this. I have to do this. If I don't do this, I'll die. The Doctor didn't have to come here; he didn't have to interfere; he knew they might kill him! If I don't use the sword, one of the samurai will, first on me, then on him we'll both both die! die!

Joel raised his heavy sword, shaking with the exertion. The Doctor didn't react, just gazed up at him, waiting. Not trying to talk him out of it, not trying to hypnotize him. Just waiting.